Initiative seeks to train youth to think business

Scola Wambui from Kikuyu, Kiambu County, is a virtual assistant — she does not have to report to any office and does most of her work online.

She largely does transcriptions, with her first ever job coming from a client in China. She completed the job in two days, and for her efforts earned Sh4,500. Her latest client paid her Sh19,500.

Ms Wambui completed secondary school in 2014 at Magomano Girls in Nyandarua, and missed the public university placement cut-off by four points. But she decided not to dwell on this and sulk. After all, she had just come across information on the Vusha Youth Empowerment Programme, which promised to secure her a future.

Vusha, run by the Africa Centre for Women, Information and Communication Technology (ACWICT), is a three-and-a-half-month programme that prepares young people for entrepreneurship and the job market.

It was launched in March 2014, and aims to improve the employability prospects and income-generating capacities of high-potential youth aged 20 to 29 from poor and disadvantaged households.

It largely focuses on imparting technical (information technology) skills, financial literacy, and healthcare planning skills. The programme so far works with youth from Nairobi, Mombasa, Machakos, Kiambu and Kisumu.

Market-driven training

At a graduation ceremony last week, the programme awarded certificates to 466 students from Kiambu County. Speaking at the event, ACWICT Executive Director Constantine Obuya said the programme is keen on imparting market-driven training.

“The training curriculum is designed to suit what employers are looking for while hiring. At the same time it is designed to open the minds of the trainees to create start-ups,” she said.

Last year, 281 trainees graduated, with Ms Obuya expecting the numbers to increase to 1,000 by next year.

Wambui, who largely works from home, studied various networking systems.

Esther Njoki from Kabete is another beneficiary of the programme. She teaches computer programmes at Bishop Kariuki Training Centre.

Eric Macharia said Vusha inspired him to go into business. After going through the programme, he became a digital marketer for furniture businesses. He now operates a cyber café in town, and uses online opportunities to grow his marketing business.

“I have made Sh14,000 in sales, and my clients are impressed with this,” he told Business Beat.

“I have also secured social media marketing jobs for four other Kenyan companies selling human hair extensions, wedding accessories and doing fashion design and events planning. They pay an average of Sh1,000 per week for my services, as well as a commission once they secure a sale through my efforts.”

He plans to expand his company and provide a monthly package to handle website development, search engine optimisation and search engine marketing for businesses in Kenya that still rely on traditional marketing methods.

ACWICT has partnered with the Rockefeller Foundation to roll out Vusha. Speaking at the graduation ceremony, Rockefeller Foundation’s representative Kimura Muraguri said in many instances, there is a disconnect between the skills acquired from formal education and the labour demands in the market.

This, she said, has created the need for tailor-made training to ensure employers get what they need. Vusha utilises best practices in youth employability programmes in its training, placement and tracking of graduates.

“This programme will create a benchmark for other African countries on creating employees for the market,” she said.

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